Just Don't Die

The Dungeon

"Adam said he created a way to send our mind, or as he called it, our 'soul,' back in time," Kalvin spoke as he climbed the stairs. "Something to do with carbon and brain synapses or some shit," he continued as he disappeared down the ladder rungs, still holding his glass. Blaine started down the ladder as soon as Kalvin was out of the way.

Blaine stepped off the ladder's last rung and looked up to see a large open room with an incredible home movie theater. Two recliners, a loveseat, and a full couch were parked in front of the ten-foot movie screen. On the back wall was what looked to be a fully stocked bar, a popcorn maker, and a large glass front refrigerator. Behind the bar, a projector was on a shelf above a wall full of DVDs. Blaine saw another door to his right where Kalvin was typing in his code again. The door opened to another room, but this one was quite a bit smaller than the first. The back wall was lined with probably forty different guns with boxes of ammo stacked to the ceiling. To the right were stacks of gold and silver bricks and several file cabinets. This was obviously the inspiration for the cabin in Colorado Springs.

"Adam told me that he sent himself back to change some things. He didn't get into specifics, but he was very intent on not saying anything to anyone. In fact, I only learned of your name when he got drunk one night and slipped. He cut my toe off in Sol to make sure I didn't stay in the Army. Apparently, that had something to do with something he needed to change. On the plus side, he also gave me some tips on how to make some quick money and some longer-term investments." Kalvin said, nearly tripping over his words as he excitedly explained things.

He told me gold, silver, and stocks from Apple and Amazon would be worth a lot in a few years. He also talked about investing in Google and Bitcoin, but I haven't seen any of those stocks yet." Kalvin grabbed a small white box. "Do you remember when I introduced you to that Magic the Gathering card game a few months ago?" He asked as he opened a white box to reveal stacks of colorful cards. "I just bought this card for ten bucks a few years ago. That's a lot for a piece of cardboard, right? Apparently, in 2020, it will be worth nearly two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It's a pretty good jump in price if you ask me. I also got cases of older booster packs that will be worth a lot when I'm ready to cash out. I assume I gave you a box of cards at some point?" Kalvin said, grabbing a small white box that Blaine recognized. "Did you get a lot for 'em?"

"Shit," Blaine said. He remembered Kalvin giving him the box of cards right before he left for Basic Training. He hadn't thought about them again until 2015 when he saw a game shop that advertised the game. When he went to find it, he found a leak in his storage unit had ruined the box. He threw them out without thinking anything of it. Hearing the amount of money he lost made his stomach tense up. "I didn't get a chance to sell them. Why didn't you ever show me any of this?"

"Well, to be honest, I have been anticipating you coming to me, telling me what you're telling me right now so I could show you. I'm a little surprised it happened so quickly." Kalvin said, finally finishing his drink.

"Well, technically, it never happened when I went through before, and you never said a word. A little warning would have been nice." Blaine joked, but with a bit of truth cutting through.

"Shortly after Adam told me about everything, he pretty much disappeared, and it's been hell having all this cool shit and knowledge and not being able to talk to anyone about it. I wonder what would have happened if I had told you. Adam was very adamant about you never knowing. I wonder what he would have done."

"This is just too weird. My first drink was with you, but it was Everclear and orange juice. Not that expensive scotch. Looking back, I'm a little irritated that I house-sat for you and never knew about this room." Blaine said, half joking again.